The Delta State chapter of the National Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association, NACTOMORAS, has accused officers of the Delta State Police Command and rival groups of disrupting their lawful transport business activities.
NACTOMORAS has, therefore, appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, seeking their intervention to stop the alleged harassment and intimidation against its members.
During a peaceful protest held at Udu Road, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, NACTOMORAS’s National Public Relations Officer, Goodwin Ikolo, raised an alarm over the continued arrest and harassment of their members indiscriminately by policemen.
He further noted that the National Human Rights Commission in 2022 recommended that the police cease harassment of the association’s members in Delta State.
The protesters cited the 2015 death of one of their members, for which the commission also advised the payment of N8 million to the family of the deceased member, which has yet to be paid to date.
Ikolo, who also serves as the Delta State chapter chairman, said the association had lost over 150 tricycles and motorcycles, valued at more than N150 million, as a direct result of police actions.
“We are protesting against the highhandedness of the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State over issues related to our operations.
“As law-abiding citizens, we belong to a noble association registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, (CAC), and we are aware that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of association,” he said.
Ikolo accused the Delta State Ministry of Transportation and a rival association of using the police, along with recruited thugs and touts, to obstruct NACTOMORAS operations.
“They molest, witch-hunt, and arrest our members across the state, obstructing our business activities,” he said.
He recalled that on September 5th and 6th, 2016, the Delta State Ministry of Transport, in collaboration with a combined team of four Hilux security agents, raided their office in Udu, arresting members and confiscating over 150 motorcycles and tricycles. The then Commissioner for Transport publicly stated that the arrests and confiscations would continue.
“What we want now is for the police to adhere strictly to the judgement and recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission, where all parties were present, and stay out of our business. If not, we will mobilise our over six million registered members across the country to engage in a massive protest against police brutality,” Ikolo warned.
NACTOMORAS emphasised that it is a legally registered body with the CAC and appealed to both the federal and state governments to intervene and secure the release of their tricycles and motorcycles that have been held by the police for years.
“Many of the confiscated vehicles were purchased under hire purchase agreements, leaving their owners in financial distress.
Delta State Police spokesperson SP Edafe Bright, when contacted, said that police only recognise and deal with bodies recognised by the Delta State Government.
He said NACTOMORAS is proscribed in Delta, and it is unknown to the state government. Police as an institution, he said, must protect legal bodies and is not answerable to the Human Rights Commission.
According to him, if the leadership of NACTOMORAS wants to operate in Delta, they should go to court and enforce their rights.
“Is the National Human Rights Commission the judiciary; are they the Court? We are not duty-bound to listen to them. I just want you to get it clear: they are not the judiciary; if they have issues, they should go to court so that the court will give a verdict,” Edafe stated.
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